


watchful

by kornevable



Series: Sportsfest18 [14]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fullmetal Alchemist AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 18:32:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16143044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kornevable/pseuds/kornevable
Summary: Kazunari will always be at Shintarou's side. / MidoTaka, FMA AU.





	watchful

**Author's Note:**

> [Prompt:](https://sportsfest.dreamwidth.org/8539.html?thread=1336155#cmt1336155)  
>  winry: why did you join the military?  
> riza: there's someone i have to protect.

Shin-chan isn't very talkative, has never been so as far back as Kazunari remembers. He's the quiet guy in meetings that listens to everyone's arguments, then presents his own opinion—he will never interrupt someone, unless they are saying obvious bullshit and listening to them is an ordeal. He's not exactly the most funny and friendly person to be around either, the other soldiers don't want to deal with him and they think that if it weren't for his alchemy, he wouldn't stand out. Of course, Kazunari doesn't agree. Shin-chan is full of mysteries, sure, but he has an incredible aim and his knowledge about the military and history are valuable to anyone teaming up with him. He's like a perfect soldier, with alchemy prowess as a bonus.  
  
Kazunari thinks that Shin-chan is a very lonely person.  
  
They aren't in the same unit, and their ranks are too different for them to have the same responsibilities, but that's not a reason for him to become a stranger and abandon the one he vowed to stay close to. That's a shame Shin-chan can't have his own team yet, as a simple Major, but when he does, it will be without a doubt one of the most efficient teams ever. Kazunari knows he's going to be part of it, anyway, because people already noticed they are friends—or partners, or more, they're not going to reveal any details about their private life!  
  
“You're someone who seems to like having fun, how come you joined the military?” one of his comrades asks.  
  
“And you know some stuff about alchemy, don't you want to become State Alchemist?” another one adds, pointing to Kazunari's notebook filled with basic alchemy formulas.  
  
“Nah, I'm bad at alchemy,” Kazunari replies with a grin. “I'd much prefer protecting people without being flashy.”  
  
“You think alchemy is flashy?”  
  
Kazunari thinks about the way Shin-chan manipulates fire and air, the way he always looks sorry to make someone suffer in such gruesome pain, the way mastering alchemy requires years and years of study. That's not for him, and people like Shin-chan need someone to rely on, even if it's quiet support or blatant pestering.  
  
“It's just not for me,” he says. “Each to their own, you know?”  
  
He offers them a bright smile, reassuring and confident. They say that guys like him are weird to always speak so lightly, even in times of war, but in his opinion it's better than succumb to constant gloominess. Everyone deserves a bit of respite once in a while.  
  
He catches a flash of green and blue, and makes wide gestures, waving animatedly.  
  
“Shin-chan! Wait up!”  
  
He bids his comrades goodbye and skips towards Shintarou, still smiling. Shintarou stops in his tracks and eyes him curiously, then keeps going when Kazunari reaches him. He doesn't greet him before starting a conversation.  
  
“Stop calling me that, we're not teenagers anymore,” he grumbles.  
  
“You know I can't do that, that's like, part of your identity!”  
  
If he discards the name he's bestowed him since they met, a decade ago, then it will feel like erasing their history together. It's not something he can do.  
  
Kazunari has to keep an eye on him, after all.


End file.
